Theo de Jong studied a number of Medieval horse skeletons from Eindhoven
with this sort of condition. The fusion of the vertebrae was very
extensive. I don't know where/if he has published this material.
Regards,
Marsha Levine
On Aug 17 2005, Erik Filean wrote:
>
>
>In a message dated 8/17/2005 7:30:53 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
> As part of a course on human palaeopathology I ran into a condition
> called Ankylosing Spondylitis. I believe this has been referred to from
> time to time in animal palaeopathology as well, however the aetiology of
> the condition in humans was believed to be associated with the tissue
> HLA-B27. There was some debate about whether such a tissue is also found
> in animals and thus, should we be using this terminology for conditions
> in animals? The term is often equated with 'bamboo spine', a description
> also used to describe the ankylosis of the vertebrae in humans, but is it
> truly the same condition or not? Does anyone have any ideas?
>
>
>
> This is a tough question to answer, because it appears that there is no
> consensus as to the cause of the condition in some animals. A few months
> ago, I had posted here about a case of ankylosing spondylitis in L5-L6 of
> a 10-year-old male horse from Roman Nijmegen; the responses were
> informative, but not conclusive. In horses, it appears that many regard
> ankylosing spondylitis as a pathology, albeit one that may appear more
> frequently and in more advanced states in riding animals or riding
> breeds. Melanie Wilson did point out, though, that the condition may
> serve to reinforce the rear of the spine and has been considered
> desirable in certain breeds of Spanish military horse and their modern
> descendants.
>
> I've more recently seen another case of ankylosing spondylitis of L5-L6
> in a modern male horse donated to our comparative collection (University
> of Iowa). I don't know the breed, but the veterinarian who provided it
> works with many show horses, so it was very possibly another riding
> animal. The animal was comparatively young, though; the mandibular
> canines were erupting at the time of death.
>
>In case they're of any use, here are some archaeological and veterinary
>references for horses:
>
>
> BARTOSIEWICZ, LASZLO, AND BARTOSIEWICZ, GABOR. 2002. "Bamboo spine" in a
> migration period horse from Hungary. Journal of Archaeological Science
> 29: 819-30. JEFFCOT, L. B. 1978. Disorders of the equine thoracolumbar
> spine - a review. Journal of Equine Medicine and Surgery 2: 9-19.
> JEFFCOT, L. B. 1979. Back problems in the horse - a look at past, present
> and future progress. Equine Veterinary Journal 3: 129-36. JEFFCOT, L. B.
> 1980. Disorders of the thoracolumbar spine of the horse - a survey of 443
> cases. Equine Veterinary Journal 12: 197-210. JEFFCOT, L. B., AND DALIN,
> G. 1980. Natural rigidity of the horse's backbone. Equine Veterinary
> Journal 12: 101-8. STECHER, R. M. 1961. Ankylosing lesions of the spine
> of the horse. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 138:
> 248-55. TOWNSEND, H. G. G., AND LEACH, D. H. 1982. Relationship between
> intervertebral joint morphology and mobility in the equine thoracolumbar
> spine. Equine Veterinary Journal 16: 461-65. Best, Erik
>
>
>"...and those that would not bond with us, we ate."
>- Harry, Third Rock from the Sun -
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--
Dr. Marsha Levine, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research
University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3ER, England
phone: +44 (0)1223-339347 / fax: +44 (0)1223-339285
http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/~ml12/
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